Strategic Plan August 2020 Consultation Draft

KIMBERLEY LANGUAGE RESOURCE CENTRE

Keeping language strong for more than 35 years

KLRC Strategic Plan – 2020 Consultation Draft

© 2018 Kimberley Language Resource Centre Copyright and ownership of cultural knowledge, ethno-biological and ethno-ecological knowledge, that appears in this document remains the property of the KLRC and the specific sources and custodians of that knowledge as individually recognised. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of the text may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Kimberley Language Resource Centre. The images, artwork and quotes contained in this Plan are the copyright of the photographers, artists and authors and may not be reproduced in any form without their permission. Requests and inquiries concerning any aspects of this plan or reproduction of any content should be addressed to: Kimberley Language Resource Centre ABN: 43 634 659 269 ICN: 422 Administration – Halls Creek 12 Terone Street PMB 11 HALLS CREEK WA 6770 Phone: (08) 9168 6005

Acknowledgements: The process utilised to prepare this plan was facilitated by Petrine McCrohan of Bridging the Landscapes. Completion of the plan was prepared under the direction and guidance of the KLRC Directors

Participants at the initial plan review workshop included:

Ngalu (Patsy) Bedford (Chairperson) Jean Malay Tom Birch George Jubbadah Annie Milgin John Watson

Edited August 2020 Siobhan Casson, Research Training and Development Officer

KLRC Strategic Plan – 2020 Consultation Draft

Contents

Executive summary ...... 1 The Kimberley Language Resource Centre ...... 3 Introduction to this plan ...... 4 How this plan was made ...... 6

1. Our vision ...... 8

2. Our stakeholders ...... 9

3. Our knowledge base and experience ...... 12

4. Our values ...... 15

5. Issues affecting our work ...... 16

6. Strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats ...... 18

7. Development priorities ...... 19

8. Objectives ...... 22

9. Action Plan ...... 23

10. Making it happen ...... 27

KLRC Strategic Plan – 2020 Consultation Draft

Executive summary

The Kimberley Language Resource Centre (KLRC) is the peak regional languages organisation in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Established in 1985 as an independent, community-based Aboriginal organisation, the KLRC supports Kimberley Aboriginal people to continue using their languages. The KLRC provides skills workshops and project advice for language groups across the region. It has community support from many language groups and engages with a significant number of stakeholders locally, regionally and nationally.

In July 2018, the KLRC reviewed its Strategic Plan. This review found that the operating environment for the organisation is changing. Over the decades the strategic aims of the organisation have moved from a focus on documentation projects to a variety of activities that reflect the diversity of the language groups across the Kimberley and the health or status of language continuation in that language community.

The KLRC must evolve in response to the changing funding environment for non-government organisations. In the past, KLRC has been heavily dependent on public funding. Over time, securing core funding has become increasingly challenging and there is a need to look at a diversity of income sources to support its activities. This includes sourcing funds from grants, philanthropic sources and fee-for-service activities. Insecurity and the increased effort required to secure funds has a destabilising effect on the organisation and its activities at a time when many Kimberley Aboriginal languages are critically endangered.

This plan is the result of the 2018 review and the involvement and insight of KLRC Directors. The plan sets out the vision, operating environment and future direction for the KLRC to help it achieve greater security and in turn deliver its vital services to prevent additional language extinction and support those still spoken. The benefits of strong languages flow over into personal and community well-being.

This new strategic plan focusses on four development priorities for KLRC.

These will be pursued by the KLRC through a revitalised governance approach and a more dynamic planning system to better deliver its services and products.

Exciting and contemporary approaches to language protection and focused collaborations will enable us to ‘Keep language strong’ in the Kimberley.

The Kimberley Language Resource Centre

The Kimberley Language Resource Centre (KLRC) is the region’s peak languages organisation. It was the first regional Aboriginal languages centre in Australia, established in 1984 Broome and incorporated in September 1985 in Halls Creek. Its establishment was an outcome of the Kimberley Language Support Program report Keeping Language Strong. This captured concerns about the effects of colonisation and impact of Western society on spoken languages and cultural knowledge. These concerns continue 35 years later.

The KLRC is governed by a Board of 12 Directors, accountable to a membership from across the Kimberley region. The office is based in Halls Creek. A Manager, appointed by the Board of Directors, has overall responsibility for operational matters.

Since its incorporation, the organisation has effectively delivered programs and services and worked with language groups in regional and remote communities in the Kimberley region to revive and maintain Aboriginal languages and to advocate for these languages.

The purpose of the organisation is to support Kimberley Aboriginal people to continue using their unique oral languages. It has maintained flexibility in its operations by responding to the changing needs of language groups and of society. Over the decades the strategic aims of the organisation have moved from a focus on individual documentation projects to a variety of activities reflecting the diversity of Kimberley language groups. KLRC responds individually to the health or status of language in a community. In recent years it has responded to growing calls to revive and maintain language on country as well as to skill language groups to design and manage their own projects.

The Kimberley was, and still is, the most linguistically diverse area in Australia with at least 42 language groups prior to colonisation (see map) plus additional dialects. The KLRC Directors advocate for around 30 still spoken or spoken in living memory. The organisation acknowledges that a few language groups have set up their own organisations and self-determine the work on their languages. Never-the-less, the KLRC will continue to advocate for the survival of all Kimberley languages.

Kimberley Language Resource Centre Objectives

The objectives of the KLRC as in our Rule Book are:

1. To provide a forum through which Aboriginal people in the Kimberley can make decisions about language policy;

2. To make books, and tapes (audio & video) about Kimberley Aboriginal language and culture and maintain copies of these as resource for Aborigines and those working among Aborigines;

3. To help Aboriginal people to work on their own language and provide formal training in language work;

4. To give advice and assistance to those desiring to teach Aboriginal languages;

5. To co-ordinate research work relating to Aboriginal language and culture in the Kimberley;

6. To facilitate services such as interpreter/translator services which relate to the needs and aspirations of Kimberley Aboriginal people;

7. To provide and maintain office, library, and other facilities and equipment for the purpose of setting up and carrying on the programs of the Centre;

8. To receive, hold and spend grants of money from the Government of the State and/or Commonwealth; and

9. To provide relief from poverty, sickness suffering, destitution, misfortune, distress and helplessness to all Aborigines in the Kimberley district of Western Australia, but without limiting the generality of the above.

Introduction to this plan

“When we were kids, about 11 years of age, us young fellas would sneak out from the mission at Oombulgarri in the dead of night there at Forrest River and run for a couple of miles to where our old people were having corroborree and telling stories in language. We did that every night until the brothers (at the mission) found out and they punished us and told us never to do that again…we lost our language and our connection to those old people…that was a sad time for us…. I would have my language today.” Tom Birch, Director, KLRC

Aboriginal people see a connection between language, lost identity and the disadvantage they experience in living conditions, health, education and employment. The KLRC believes that language is a vital part of community wellbeing. Hence it needs to be integrated into whole of government approaches to create improved social conditions and outcomes for Aboriginal people in the Kimberley.

Support for communities to strengthen intergenerational transmission of heritage knowledge and language needs to occur through coordinated regional activities. Localised documentation and language projects, while important, suffer from lack of continuity. Aboriginal groups want to pass on their own knowledge as a way of life, not just through short-term funded projects. They call for support to teach their younger generations in language about country, culture, family, health and identity as an ongoing practice.

There is great benefit in having a regional organisation like KLRC to facilitate and coordinate resourcing, advocacy and awareness raising. The KLRC has been proudly doing this for over 30 years and seeks to support Kimberley Aboriginal people for many more years to come. This strategic plan identifies the KLRC activities for the next stage of its evolution.

An important part of the plan is identifying specific market opportunities for commercial activities that can generate income. As market opportunities for products and services are identified, feasibility studies and then business plans can be developed to ensure that such opportunities move forward under the best conditions of culture, capability, commitment and connections.

How this plan was made

This plan was prepared using a participatory planning process called Stepping Stones. Stepping Stones is a facilitated process that has been developed in response to the needs of Aboriginal organisations working in land management, heritage and cultural development, tourism and enterprise. There are different versions of Stepping Stones depending on the context of use.

Stepping Stones has been developed by Stepwise Heritage and Tourism since 2004 with contributing assistance from Tourism NT, the Sustainable Tourism CRC, Indigenous Business Australia and the Australian Government Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Stepping Stones uses the culturally-universal metaphor of feet and a path of footsteps to guide people on the pathway of planning. The process has a strong base with Indigenous communities locally, nationally and internationally and has been translated into at least six different languages.

In this case Stepping Stones for Enterprise Development was used as a key tool to structure information gathering, workshops and the plan format itself. The process defines a vision for the future, considers the knowledge available, determines issues and defines a framework for future business development that includes objectives and actions to achieve the objectives.

Most importantly, this plan considers what the cultural values are that the KLRC want to maintain and communicate in participating in progressing their language objectives and enterprise activity. The plan then embeds these values firmly in their approach to organisational structure and to ensure business development is consistent with their values, goals and aspirations. The process considered how KLRC can develop their organisational processes, cultural language activities and fledging enterprise initiatives into sustainable revenue-based models.

The structure of this plan follows the Stepping Stones footprints.

Vision for the This section sets out the vision for the Kimberley Language Step 1 future Resource Centre.

Who is This section identifies the key stakeholders including Step 2 involved partners, local community groups, and other government departments, supporters and specialists. What we This section sets out the key knowledge assets and Step 3 know experience that can be utilised in the organisation.

What is This section outlines what the values are that underpin the Step 4 important organisational structure.

What the This section identifies key issues affecting the way the Step 5 issues are organisational process can take place.

Strengths This section provides a snapshot of the strategic situation for Step 6 and weaknesses

Development This section presents a range of the ideas put forward by the Step 7 priorities Directors to maintain, protect and communicate the culture, heritage and values of all languages in the Kimberley. Objectives This section states the key targets that will guide the Step 8 organisation and enterprise initiatives.

Action Plan This section contains the forward action plan and activities to Step 9 guide the Kimberley Language Resource Centre

Making it This section states how the Plan is going to be managed, put Step 10 happen into action and how implementation of this plan will be monitored, evaluated and reviewed.

1. Our vision

The mission of the KLRC is to revive and maintain Aboriginal languages in the Kimberley region for the benefit of Aboriginal people’s culture, identity, land and status.

The desire of Directors is to bring a strong model of cultural governance to the organisation which encompasses and engages with both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal governance values and practices.

“Our vision is for our children to be proud language speakers, making them strong as Aboriginal people, living in two worlds. Our children need to have a language foundation to stand tall on culture and country so they know who they are. Kimberley languages are struggling to survive. Over 20 are severely or critically endangered. Our vision is to waikumup by teaching on country and in the schools, so people don’t lose their language. We can’t afford a lost generation, disconnected from their language, it causes so many social problems.” KLRC Directors 2018

2. Our stakeholders

The KLRC depend on a wide range of key partners to enable it to deliver its services. The tables following provide more specific details on stakeholders within each of these groups and their actual or potential role or interest in relation to the KLRC.

Core partner Local partners AustralIndigenousProgram ian Government Language and Arts 6PRKHallsLittleLilwunsYurWunana Yung NuggetsCreekRadio Youth Playgroupi Medical District Hub Early Services HighLearning School Centre KLRC Directors Government partners NationalAustralians KimberleyCommissionLotterywestDepartmentGovernment,Cultural IndustriesIndigenous Development Agency of Sport Local and

Kimberley Language Groups Regional partners KimberleyNativeMarraWunan GoolarriYirimanJawun WorraTitle –Governance ProjectMediaCorporate AboriginalDevelopmentLand Organisations Worra Council Secondee Support Law Commission and(PBCs) Program Culture Centre &

Supporting partners AIATSISAPRBinarriJenJoyceLivingMiromaaTechnologyUniversityWA MuseumFord Geotech DesignLanguages- binyja (archivist)Aboriginal of Centre Melbourne &(website) yarrawoo Data Language (database) and

Core partner

Australian Government ILA is the primary source of operational funding for ATSI language Department of Infrastructure, centres, as well as project funding for languages and arts activities. .ILA Transport, Regional Development has given KLRC a 2 year grant to support the development of its database. and Communications Indigenous Languages and Arts Program

Regional partners

Goolari Media (Broome) Past partner on Talking Country and other film projects. Co-project to record speakers of languages for teaching purposes is yet to be funded.

Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Strong cultural linkages. Working under a shared agreement about the Culture Centre ways in which the two organisations can be “stronger working together”. KALACC hosts the Yiriman Project which is a strong supporter of KLRC. Kimberley Development KLRC received three grants in 2017 for building maintenance, staff Commission training and publishing. Kimberley Land Council Resourced the KLRC in 2017, 2018 and 2019 to hold their AGM at the combined AGMs of KLC, KALACC and Aarnja. Donor. Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Provides a Language Room at Karralyili Adult Education Centre. Provided Corporation grant for KLRC website upgrade. Donor. Native Title Organisations (PBC) Organisations such as Nyamba Buru Yawuru, which supports Yawuru language through its own centre Mabu Yawuru Ngan-ga Wunan Governance Support Supporting KLRC to regain Commonwealth funding through strengthened governance processes

Local partners 6PRK Radio Collaborating with 6PRK on a Community Broadcasting Foundation grant to get language slots on the radio and produce short language films. . Halls Creek District High School The School is a working partner in on country learning/ teaching activities as well as a support organisation for classroom-based activities. Lilwuns Playgroup Based at the Ningkuwum-Ngamayuwu Child and Parent Centre, KLRC is collaborating on a language immersion program, with support from the Connecting to Country grant and Miromaa Aboriginal Language and Technology Centre. Little Nuggets Early Learning KLRC supports language activities at LNELC and plans to expand on this Centre

Yura Yungi Medical KLRC collaborates on social and emotional well-being projects. YYMS has Services/Kimberley Aboriginal donated. Medical Services Council Wunan Youth Hub KLRC is supporting integration of language into their activities.

Supporting partners Australian Institute of Aboriginal The Collections Unit provided all KLRC-lodged materials in digital format. and Torres Strait Islander Studies Future engagement at board level planned on processes of archival (AIATSIS) materials contributing to language teaching and learning. They have some projects already touching on this. http://aiatsis.gov.au/research/research- themes/languages-and-cultural-expression/arc-repatriation-linkage- return-reconcile-renew APR Geotech & Data Greg Mules has had a connection to KLRC since 2002 when he first developed a customised database. In 2019 he provided pro-bono support. He is a consultant on the ILA-funded database project. Binarri-binyja yarrawoo Backbone for East Kimberley Empowered Communities. KLRC is a member organisation. Has advocated for KLRC in recent years. First Languages Australia National representative body for ATSI languages.

Jawun Secondee Program KLRC has benefited from two secondees since 2018.

Jen Ford Jen Ford has been supporting the KLRC archive, including on a pro bono basis, since 2007. Joyce Design Henry Joyce has been KLRC’s website consultant since 2005. The website has been upgraded in 2020, funded by Marra Worra Worra. Living Languages - previously KLRC access Living Language’s Flexible Training workshops. These have Resource Network and Linguistics been held in Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing. A future goal is a Development (RNLD) Tjurabalan-based workshop. Miromaa Aboriginal Language and Key stakeholder in shared interests in language group empowerment. Technology Centre, Newcastle KLRC supports Kimberley users with the Miromaa Dictionary Maker. They NSW have delivered workshops in the Kimberley and provided free technology kits. Western Australian Museum KLRC is providing content for the Living Languages exhibition.

Government partners Kimberley Development KDC provided grants for staff training and professional development and Commission building maintenance. They also manage the Election Commitment grant provided by Josephine Farrer MP, Member for the Kimberley. This grant was for publications. Lotterywest KLRC was recently granted money from the Resilient Organisations funding round. Department of Local Government, KLRC received Connecting to Country funding in 2018 to support Sport and Cultural Industries language immersion in on country activities. This has supported activities at Halls Creek DHS and Lilwuns Playgroup. National Indigenous Australians KLRC is engaging with NIAA to support a key administrative position for Agency an Aboriginal person, to support management career pathways.

3. Our knowledge base and experience

What we know and what we need to find out § We know our languages are critically at risk. Unless there is a swift call to action with a strong partnership base, innovative revenue-based activities, Teaching on Country and school-based learning, and a critical mass of external stakeholders supporting Kimberley Aboriginal Languages, we know our children will not be language speakers. The loss of language has already contributed to increased mental health problems and other related issues facing our people. § We know that after almost a decade of failure to significantly improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Federal Government has recently announced a major overhaul of the Closing the Gap strategy. Language and Culture have a stronger place in the new strategy. § We know under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to which Australia was a signatory in 2009, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have the right to maintain their cultures and languages. In particular, Article 13 states: 1. Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons. 2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that this right is protected and also to ensure that indigenous peoples can understand and be understood in political, legal and administrative proceedings, where necessary through the provision of interpretation or by other appropriate means. § We know we have skilled language speakers that hold the key to language survival in the Kimberley. They need support to pass their knowledge on. § We know that 2019 was the UNESCO International Year of Indigenous Languages, but that KLRC was unable to take part due to the cut in ILA funding. This was a missed opportunity to promote the critical status of Kimberley Aboriginal Languages. The KLRC needs to find a way forward urgently. § We know that Language Nests work, especially for kids under 6. Children who benefitted from short-term Language Nest projects in the past have more language now than their peers. § We need to find out more about other Kimberley organisations which are supporting languages and make sure KLRC supports and works with them. The current competition for limited funding is hurting many of the under-resourced groups.

Our history

We need to learn from the past - bring back what was working and leave behind what is not helping us move forward. The timeline shows that we have been through many phases already.

Year/Key funder Activities

1984-1990 § Funds to set up KLRC and some ongoing operational and project money. Commonwealth § Other grants, including state funding, boosted projects. Department of § Small staff based in Halls Creek in an office with few resources. Indigenous Affairs § Reliance on linguists to help design and manage projects 1990-2005 § Funded operations – Halls Creek office and Fitzroy Crossing Annexe ATSIC - Aboriginal § Additional project funds – contract linguists still design and manage projects control of funds § Did not have to argue the importance of language with ATSIC 2005-2006 § Fitzroy Crossing Annexe closed Transition to § Less additional project money available Commonwealth control § More justification needed for operational funds to run a regional language centre 2006 onwards DCITA, § Reduced operational money – no recognition of administrative costs of running DEWHA, FaHCSIA, regional organisation. Ministry of Arts, § Unwillingness to resource anything other than ‘products’ Department of § Project funds linked to operation costs – less projects, less operational funds Communication and the Ignores the other work the organisation does such as providing advice and Arts information. 2017-2019 § Difficult period for the organization. Non-compliance notices. Department of § Increase in project funding, but less capacity to deliver. Communication and the § Operational funding cut from 1st July 2019. Arts

Key documents KLRC has several archived plans and strategies that are still relevant. These are too numerous to list but need to be included in any induction of staff into the organisation.

Key plans and strategies Details and implications for KLRC

Strategic Plan 2013 -2018 This Strategic Plan is still available for new staff to acquaint themselves with an overview of previous strategies employed by the organisation. It is important to maintain this process Business Plan 2013 – 2018 & The Business Plan needs to be reviewed and linked to the Strategic Plan. The Priority Action Plan KLRC is currently using a Priority Action Plan which can be quickly updated to respond to changing opportunities. Archive Development Plan This document, developed by Jen Ford, has been guiding work on the archive for 2008 over a decade. The most recent updates and reports are from 2018. Kimberley Regional Whilst this plan does not specifically identify language actions, it does refer to Development Plan – 2036 health and wellbeing and culture: “Develop a preventative health and wellbeing and Beyond: A Regional culture; Develop social infrastructure services and cultural facilities to meet regional Investment Blueprint for the population requirements.” Kimberley Cultural Infrastructure This strategy is due to be completed in October 2018. The KLRC’s input noted: Strategy, WA government, People with traditional knowledge and language are the key to help younger Department of Culture and generations in building their identity and self-resilience; Preservation of stories in the Arts 2018. language for indigenous art as an income pathway; Cultural Infrastructure is not just purpose built buildings to house and showcase culture, but indeed to promote a living culture in the lives of Aboriginal people.

National Indigenous The policy proposes coordinated action between government, ATSI languages Language Policy 2009 organisations, educational and research institutions in order to support the maintenance and revival of ATSI languages. The National Indigenous The most recent report on ATSI languages in Australia, found that the situation of Languages Survey (NILS) Australia’s first languages is grave and requires urgent action. In the Kimberley, Report 2019, only one language – Kukatja – is still being passed on to the youngest generation.

WA Aboriginal Languages This document is valuable as it provides an overview of the issues and history of Policy Discussion Paper Aboriginal languages in Western Australia and policy development in this area. It Department of Indigenous addresses maintenance and revival of traditional aboriginal languages, provision Affairs, May 2008 of translation and interpreting services and English language development for children and adults

4. Our values

We have formed a set of guiding principles for our strategic plan to be reflected in all our activities and to inform those that work with us.

VALUE 1: We follow culture Respect, responsibility, cultural values, kinship, building wellbeing through staying close to language and culture. Our work is based on traditional teaching within families and learning knowledge from the elders.

VALUE 2: We empower language speakers Our goal is the transmission of language through the generations and we support language speakers to teach on country and in schools. To keep our languages strong, we will build capacity in people to own and control their own language projects and language outcomes.

VALUE 3: We share and learn across language groups Our ancestors shared language, many people knew how to speak the language of neighboring groups. We want to keep the benefits of sharing and learning across language groups strong for our young people.

VALUE 4: We build beneficial and trusting relationships We value partnerships and trusting relationships, built over time with mutually beneficial relationships based on ‘wurnan’ - our culturally based way of giving and receiving, sharing and collaborating to bring about greater intercultural understanding.

VALUE 5: We look for new ways to service our community We want to establish innovative social enterprise and fee-for-service activities, that benefit the community and provide a financial future for our younger generations based on our language and culture.

“Our Languages were shared, we all learnt each other’s language….it is important for this to continue, to value sharing and caring. Today communication is a big problem. Teach our kids how our old people taught us – to connect them with each other, no more divisions, staying separate is not our culture, people are too isolated from each other …it causes big mental problems these days. Language brings us back together

” Annie Milgin, Nyikina Elder

5. Issues affecting our work

1. Operational issues This includes funding, work planning, partnerships, organisational structure, self-generated income (fee- for-service/social enterprise initiatives), sponsorships.

Issue Nature of issue for KLRC Reliance on § For sustainability and less dependency on government funds, the Directors government funds identified other resource options including use of volunteers, interns and Jawun secondees. Also improving philanthropic and private investment funding. § Developing a fee-for-service model is extremely challenging when it is clear the service delivery is not of a high enough, and reliable, standard. § A broader strategy is required for sustainability and to move away from endless funding rounds § There a many people in the broader Australian public keen to contribute to preserving our Indigenous languages Out of date § The governance model is being reviewed by Directors. The goal is to include governance model strong language and culture governance alongside a strong corporate governance structure. § The board needs to have a foolproof system in place to employ, monitor, and if necessary, fire their Manager. Internal structure and § Internal management structure with lines of supervision and reporting and clear capacity roles and responsibilities need to be in place § There is low administrative capacity and this impacts on governance, daily operations and ability to engage with the community Manager’s role § Lessons have been learnt about the need to employ a highly skilled and highly experience Manager who will focus on governance and administration and can manage a diverse staff team. Project Manager § There is a need for a Project Manager with project management, budget management and stakeholder engagement experience. They do not need to have a linguistics degree. They do need to be able to work across diverse Kimberley Aboriginal Language groups. Staff Retention § Acknowledgement of intergenerational trauma and the impact on people’s lives - staff JDF’s should be informed by these factors accordingly § Staff team culture needs to be about moving in the same direction. All staff should feel supported in their specific roles and responsibilities. No current business § A robust Business Plan is needed to attract investment and funding plan Outdated policies and § Policies and procedures are currently under review. procedures § Project development and implementation policy needs strengthening to guide management. Regional collaboration § There is no practical support from other regional Aboriginal bodies. Lots of talk but no action. We need a streamlined process so that KLRC can strengthen language on country, training and skills development. Archive development § Stakeholder engagement – especially in the area of records management – is needed § Archived materials and written resources are not currently accessible or usable by community § Database grant will provide techncal solution to organising and finding material, but further funds will be needed to link this to digital items.

2. Language teaching and learning issues

The primary focus on school teaching and western methods is continuing to damage intergenerational learning. KLRC needs to focus strongly on home, community and on country teaching and learning. This building block will support all other types of teaching and learning.

Issue Nature of issue for School issues § Parents get their money taken away from them if kids don't attend school. We want teaching on country, which means time away from school § We need the state, independent and Catholic school systems to engage with an alternative approach to language education which includes accessing with archival materials and experimenting with language immersion approaches. . English and § Kids get confused with English at school and Language at home, they start Language to feel ashamed to use Aboriginal languages § KLRC needs to find more effective ways to ramp up ‘home and community’ language use to counteract English and lay a stronger foundation for Teaching on Country Linguists § Some linguists have not embraced a new way of working where they are contributing to Aboriginal people’s language teaching and learning needs and goals § There is still distrust because linguists and other researchers appear to be taking knowledge without beneficial returns Measurement § How do we measure if on-country teaching is working? Need to evaluate for Framework investors and funding bodies. § Revisit the Teaching on Country Curriculum Framework (2010) which highlights the need to develop an appropriate measurement framework Government § Lack of government support generally for language development support § Australia does not actively encourage the use of heritage languages § There is no appetite in government for Aboriginal people to be bilingual or multilingual. Language support can be tokenistic. Language as § Find a way for KLRC to effectively promote Language as a cultural healing Cultural Healing tool when applying for funds and inviting private investors. Aboriginal Teachers § Language teachers are not given the same pay and conditions as other teachers, so the message is that our languages are not important Intellectual § Revisit the Indigenous Knowledge Intellectual Property policies and Property documents and integrate them into the standard policies and procedures of the organisation § Develop easy to use proforma and information sheets for external stakeholders

6. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

A SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) provides a quick overview of the issues and strategic context that can be used to help design an effective strategic direction. For the Kimberley Language Resource Centre these are:

Strengths Weaknesses

§ Passion for keeping Kimberley languages alive § High turnover of staff in recent years because of multiple issues § Established physical infrastructure § Difficulties to recruit and maintain staff for longer § High regard and loyalty from members and broader term effective operations. language communities. § Inadequate longer-term funding to maintain § Growing and genuine interest from the wider effective management and representation and to community in Aboriginal languages and cultures implement succession strategies. § Increased motivation amongst Kimberley Aboriginal § Distance of head office from remote and regional language groups and communities to maintain and communities in the region, which requires vehicles revive languages and culture and share with the wider and increased staff travel costs. community. § Service provider, orthography and cultural § Strong Board of Directors awareness workshops cannot be delivered without § Strong vision and strong guiding principles. an increase in staffing and the training of local staff § There are many competing interests and activities in townships, including cultural and family obligations.

Opportunities Threats

§ Work with communities, NGOs and Government in a § Insufficient number of language specialists and coordinated and clearly articulated way that shows speakers (who are in their 70s, 80s and 90s.) which the links between language continuation and cultural requires training of younger Aboriginal people for identity and resilience. continuation of language speakers and development of language resources. § To forge greater collaborations where we are working more closely with regional organisations § That we will not make the changes necessary § To innovate and be creative in how we do business § Employees without the right skills § Teaching on Country is a unique philosophy and § The limited IT network and the sub-standard IT supports general wellbeing/ health equipment is a threat to the records management, archive and functionality of operations and service § There is a key revenue link between biodiversity and delivery linguistic diversity, KLRC gains access to research funds both nationally and internationally. § Forge private investment and philanthropic partnerships to gain traction with social enterprise

development

7. Development priorities

There is increasing competition for scarce resources amongst organisations working in language security. Coordination and collaboration at the regional level is vital.

“We all one mob, funding bodies separate us, make us weak, all these organisations separated under white man law. We are strong as one….” Mr. Watson, Nykina elder]

The challenging funding environment will require some innovative thinking to ensure the KLRC can continue to deliver language outcomes across the Kimberley. There are four priorities for the KLRC over the next three years of this strategic plan.

1. Improve 2. Strengthen efficency of the advocacy & organisation collaborat ion

3. Expand 4. Offer more revenue base targeted services

1. Improve efficiency of the organisation

Strategies: § The KLRC Directors look at governance reform for the organisation to ensure that we maintain strong cultural leadership. § Ensure that the KLRC Manager has adequate professional support and mentoring. § Appoint a Project Manager to better coordinate and support language projects. § Increase youth relevant language activities and improve the relevance of KLRC for the interests of youth. § Develop an effective archive as a core business tool and asset of the organisation to ensure KLRC operates in an efficient and professional way. The archive underpins its history, its knowledge and its future. § Seek help from others, such as research partners and volunteers to improve the archive § Improve staffing retention by targeting the unique circumstances of Kimberley people, their history and subsequent intergenerational legacy of unresolved trauma. § Seek professional help in improving our human resources management, including clarifying job descriptions, improving employee satisfaction and creating a more empowered and enlivened organisational culture.

2. Strengthen advocacy and collaboration

Strategies: § Develop and nurture a strong alliance with the Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre, sharing resources, events and preparing joint funding applications. § Enhance our advocacy role by concentrating on community councils, local politicians and regional events. Engage Senator Patrick Dodson as a champion and political advocate. § Develop functionality on the KLRC website to include upcoming events and news to ensure a more proactive advocacy capacity. § Undertake targeted media activities to raise awareness in the broader community about language issues. § Attend national and international language forums and conferences. § Produce short video clips of language issues for raising public awareness and which can be used by media to promote language issues consistent with KLRC interests. § Forge new alliances and collaborative partnerships, particularly between culturally aligned organisations such as Native Title PBCs and Aboriginal Ranger groups. § Start a dialogue with language groups with their own language programs to understand what is working and where they face challenges. Seek opportunities for mutual support.

3. Expand resource base

Strategies: § Expand the revenue base by including fee-for-service activities to augment core funding. § Develop cross-cultural workshops with a language focus as a saleable product. § Improve marketing of KLRC consultancy services for language services and project involvement. § Promote opportunities for unincorporated groups and projects requiring a legal entity for funds management. Use a 20% commission for each auspicing arrangement. § Activate the online sales capacity on the KLRC website. § Explore other avenues to attract additional investment of time and money from private resources, internships, project contributions, volunteer time. § Trial crowd funding for specific KLRC projects. § Consider developing a prospectus of investment opportunities with KLRC.

4. Offer more targeted services

Strategies: § Focus on developing three to four services based on a realistic appraisal of target markets and delivery capabilities. § Undertake further dialogue with Native Title PBCs and Aboriginal ranger groups/Indigenous Protected Areas to clarify areas where there may be a need for language services and projects. § Refine the KLRC’s offer for government departments and regional service providers around language aspects of service delivery in health, education, childcare, child protection and legal services. § Present a contemporary and professional market image for KLRC and improve the public face through an updated website that includes an ability to easily load updated material and information about events and news. A more contemporary and active public face will help KLRC to promote its services. § Develop a social media presence for the organisation. Making social media part of a job description for one staff member. This could assist in attracting younger people to work for KLRC, § Create a suite of promotional tools for KLRC products and services matched to target audiences.

8. Objectives

The following are our objectives linked to our strategic priorities. At the end of the 3 years, these objectives can be reviewed to see what progress we have made.

Development priority Specific objectives we are going to use to measure our performance

1. Improve q A renewed governance framework for KLRC has been implemented that efficiency of the includes a strong and effective two-way cultural governance approach organisation q Staffing has increased, and staff are supported to work in a two-way cultural governance framework q The KLRC Directors are satisfied that an effective governance model has been implemented which is an improvement on previous governance arrangements q The KLRC Manager is appropriately skilled and experienced. q The KLRC Project Manager is appropriately skilled and experienced. 2. Strengthen q The relationship and collaboration with the Kimberley Aboriginal Law advocacy and and Culture Centre has improved and resulted in new opportunities for KLRC collaboration q The KLRC website has been upgraded to present a more contemporary and professional image including social media and an enhanced capacity to fulfill our advocacy role. q The KLRC has been involved in at least three targeted media activities a year to raise awareness of language issues q The KLRC has established new partnerships and projects with local language groups and other culturally-aligned organisations 3. Expand resource q A set of clearly designed products has been developed that is offered on base a fee-for-service basis q At least one cross-cultural workshop has been run each year bringing additional revenue into the organization q Sales of products are achieved through the online sales component of the KLRC website q Crowd funding for a specific project has been trialed q Develop a prospectus document for fee-for-service activities and make available in hard and soft copy q Investment from private/philanthropic sources has increased 4. Offer more q A social media program has been established for KLRC targeted services q Three services/products have been defined and promoted to specific target markets q New opportunities with Native Title organisations and Aboriginal ranger groups have been identified

9. Action plan

This section includes the work programs for each of the four priority areas for moving forward. Details of the action plan have been developed by integrating: § The vision as set by the Directors; § The need to maintain the languages of the Kimberley as identified; § The obligations of the KLRC as receiving funding support from government and non- government sources; § An understanding of the issues and opportunities faced by KLRC in developing sustainable enterprises; and § The priority activities as identified. The activities which appear in the work programs, will need to be prioritised and resourced according to yearly budget and planning cycles. They may also need to be adjusted with appraisal of upcoming opportunities. The KLRC Manager should use these work program tables to produce an implementation plan for each quarterly period with specific details of Who, When and How each action will be implemented. A format for this implementation plan is provided in Section 10.

Action plan The action plan below provides an overview of how the strategic plan will be implemented over three years. The planning for implementation of the actions will be undertaken in quarterly periods with a more detailed Priority Action Plan prepared for each period.

1. Improve efficiency of 2. Strengthen advocacy and 3. Expand revenue base 4. Offer more targeted services organisation collaboration

Year 1 1.1 Undertake review of 2.1 Formally engage Senator Patrick 3.1 Apply for support to NIAA for 4.1 Attend and present at a regional governance arrangements Dodson as champion and Administration Officer ranger forum to build 2020-2021 including possible use of advocate for the KLRC through an relationships and opportunities 3.2 Identify priority fee-for-service independent Directors exchange of correspondence between KLRC and ranger activities to develop and (signed by the Board) groups 1.2 Seek advice on human promote resources management to help 2.2 Strengthen alliances with 4.2 Attend and present at Native 3.3 Deliver fee-for-service train the implement more innovative culturally aligned organisations Title Prescribed Body Corporate trainer cultural awareness and responsive staffing (e.g. KALACC) through exchange Directors meetings to promote program to local providers approaches of correspondence fee-for-service 3.4 Test viability and feasibility of 1.3 Upgrade computer hardware 2.3 Develop capacity for videography 4.3 Define language-specific needs having online sales capacity and software to support the skills specifically for advocacy in regional health and education ILA Database Project 3.6 Develop social media targeting organisations through meetings 2.4 Re-develop website to reflect the young generation with 2 organisations 1.4 Begin steps towards an strategic directions and more philanthropists. Information Management dynamic content with news and System events 1. 2.6 Engage university partner/s to develop an effective archive as a

core business tool

2.7 Identify specific tasks suitable for volunteer assistance in developing the archive or other language activities

Year 2 1.1 Revise website to reflect new 2.1 Identify and commence work on 3.1 Expand fee-for-service train the 4.1 strategic directions and a more priority activities with regional or trainer cultural awareness 4.2 Developing capacity with video 2021 - 2022 contemporary corporate national language programs opportunities presence image 2.2 Expand university partnerships to 3.3 Trial a crowd funding campaign 4.3 Define language-specific needs 1.3 Identify database and other get more assistance with archives for a specific project in regional health and education stakeholder partnerships to 2.3 Initialise a social media presence, 3.4 Review use of social media and organisations through meetings strengthen benefits of ILA with campaigns targeted at local develop a social media strategy with 2 organisations Database Project politicians, regional events and 3.5 Implement skills training 4.4 Promote specific language 1.4 Workshops tools to improve community councils programs as a fee-for-service programs to regional service community engagement 2.4 Expand discussions with Ranger activity to different sectors of providers groups and Native Title groups on the community – explore online

suitable collaborative activities options. 2.5 Better understand and begin 3.6 Plan and hold a KLRC Open Day dialogue with other language and to encouraging engagement culture organisations for mutual with local service providers and support and opportunities to community collaborate 3.7 Develop a long-term investment strategy

Year 3 1.1 Scope readiness for regional 2.2 Social media presence for 3.4 Review social media presence 4.1 Continue activities that deliver access to archive materials advocacy using videos clips and future directions targeted messages and 2022 - 2023 delivered to media organisations programs using video clips 3.5 Expand online skills training and others options 4.2 Develop a prospectus with at least 3 defined services/products 3.5 Deliver fee-for-service activities specifically responding to the needs of regional health and education organisations

10. Making it happen

This plan will be used to guide the strategic direction for the Kimberley Language Resource Centre. This plan contains the big picture for our priorities and how our different organisational and enterprise activities will progress. This plan links all our different activities together. The structure of the plan will be used to structure meetings, more detailed planning and reports. The KLRC Directors are responsible for making sure this plan gets implemented. To implement the plan, the KLRC Manager will keep an Implementation Plan for each quarterly period of the year: 1. July – September 2. October – December 3. January – March 4. April – June The Implementation plan will be presented to Directors at each KLRC Director’s meeting to review what actions have been done and what needs to be planned for the period ahead. Ideally Directors meetings will be held to coincide with the start of each quarterly period. The Implementation plan should be filled out in draft form prior to the Directors Meeting and then discussed at the meeting with any necessary changes made to produce a working quarterly implementation plan. If there is no Directors meeting, a quarterly implementation plan should still be prepared by the KLRC Manager and then a report on that plan made at the next Directors Meeting The format for the implementation plan is as follows. Action items can be transferred from the action plan in Section 9 and additional detail or items added to reflect the current resourcing and upcoming opportunities. At the end of three years, there will be major review of this Strategic Plan. This review should include an evaluation of the progress toward achieving the objectives set out in Section 8. This review should be presented to the KLRC Directors and this information used to prepare a new Strategic Plan for the next period that includes a revision and update of information for each section of the Plan.

Implementation Plan format

KLRC Strategic Plan - Implementation

For quarterly period October – December 2018

Action Who When How Who is responsible Milestone & Notes to guide implementation /involved deliverable dates

1. Improve efficiency of organisation

1.1

2. Strengthen advocacy and collaboration

2.1

3. Expand revenue base 3.1

4. Offer more targeted services 4.1

“Language holds our culture, country holds language…. without language we lose ourselves”

Ngalu Patsy Bedford, Chairperson, Bunuba Elder